Forward Mike Knuble doesn’t regret signing a one-year deal to play with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2013, but it kept him away from his home and family in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He turned 41 on July 4 and at this point, his primary goal as an unrestricted free agent is to stay close to home.

“I never want to move away to the east coast,” he told MLive. “I don’t mind some travel, some commute. But realistically, the options are Detroit and Chicago.”

That being said, he knows that the Red Wings and Blackhawks “can barely fit in the guys they have,” so he’s not holding his breath waiting for something to be worked out. In other words, he realizes that his playing career might be over, and it sounds like he’s okay with that.

“I got a taste of what life would be like without hockey – coaching my kids and being around and being at home and I really enjoyed that,” he said, referring to what he did during the lockout.

“So, to me, whether you play or not, things can change on a dime. Would I still like to play? Sure, but it has to be the right thing for me and my family.”

Assuming he isn’t able to work out an NHL deal this summer, he’s got a potential alternative in mind. He’s reached out to the coach of the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, Jeff Blashill, about the possibility of helping the team.

“For me I just want to get through the summer and let everything get going and then see where we’re at, see where they’re at with their roster and see if it is even an option,” Knuble said.

“I’d love to help out, but we’ll see. I have 17 years of pro knowledge in my head, and I’d love to pass it on to guys trying to find their way. So, you never know.”

The Griffins are the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, so Knuble might end up helping them out even if Detroit isn’t looking to sign him as a player.

If Knuble retires, he’ll be ending a career that lasted 1,068 games with Detroit, the New York Rangers, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington. He has 278 goals and 548 points.

“Mark is a player we would have had interest in on July 5th,” Holmgren said in a statement. “We now have exclusive negotiating rights and we are hopeful that we can get an agreement in place prior to him becoming an unrestricted free agent.”

In exchange, the Islanders receive prospect Shane Harper and a fourth-round pick at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Streit, 35, was a key member of the Isles this year. He led all New York defensemen in scoring (27 points) and finished second on the team in power play points, with eight.

In the playoffs, he tied John Tavares for the team playoff scoring lead (five points) and averaged over 20 minutes a night.

Following the Islanders’ first-round exit against Pittsburgh, Streit told Newsday he wanted to return to New York as his five-year, $20.5 million deal was set to expire on July 5.

“I’ve said it all along, I want to be back,” he explained. “I love it here, I love Long Island and the organization has been great to me.”

But it appears for all that love talk, money got in the way.

Here’s more:

The Islanders are believed to have made a three-year offer for the same $4.75 million per season that Lubomir Visnovsky accepted on the eve of the trade deadline (Visnovsky’s deal is for two years), but Streit is looking for north of $5.5 million per season.

With the free agent market for defensemen very thin, Streit could command $6 million per year and even possibly get a four-year deal. The Islanders wanted Streit back to keep the continuity Garth Snow has built, but the Isles GM is also not interested in busting his salary structure to keep Streit.

It’ll be interesting to see if Philadelphia can match Streit’s reported salary demands.

The Flyers are currently over $64.3 million cap for next season, with 24 players under contract and decisions pending on a number of veteran UFAs (that, to be frank, are probably not that high of a priority: Simon Gagne, Mike Knuble, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jody Shelley, Adam Hall, Matt Walker, Kurtis Foster and Kent Huskins).

Things get demonstratively better in 2014-15, when the Flyers project to be nearly $18 million under the cap, albeit with deals for Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier needing to get done.

Philly’s move to acquire Streit is the second of its kind in recent days.

Briere has battled injury problems over the last few years, but he’s missed just four games this season for the Flyers. That said, his production is down with just five goals and eight assists this season. His 13 points put him 18 behind team leader Jakub Voracek. With the Flyers pushing to make the playoffs, losing anyone producing points is an unnecessary blow.

Read left the morning skate today with the other regulars who will play tonight while Mike Knuble took extra practice.

That would imply Read is playing just two weeks after the Flyers estimated he would need six weeks to recover from the injury suffered against the Penguins on Feb. 20 in Pittsburgh, when he was hit by Evgeni Malkin and then Chris Kunitz in the first period.

That’s the question circulating around Philly this morning after the Daily News’ Frank Seravalli broke word that a pair of teams — the Blues and Bruins — have inquired about the 35-year-old.

It’s an interesting bit of information given the Flyers, mired in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, could use a shakeup beyond bringing back the likes of Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne.

Also interesting is that St. Louis and Boston — both likely playoff bound — are kicking the tires on a great playoff scorer (Briere has 108 points in 109 career postseason games.)

Now all that said, Briere doesn’t sound interested in changing addresses.

More, from Seravalli:

Briere, 35, is one player who isn’t going anywhere. The Flyers have not asked Briere to waive his no-trade clause, and it isn’t clear whether they’re interested in moving him, but he provided an answer Tuesday.

Briere has a full no-movement clause – meaning he can’t even be sent to the minors without his permission – and will not waive it to be dealt to any team in the NHL, regardless of destination.

“I don’t want to comment on anything at this point,” Briere told the Daily News. “Trades are not my department. I’ve been a Flyer for a long time. My heart belongs in Philadelphia with the Flyers. I can’t see myself playing anywhere else.”

Briere has two seasons left on the eight-year, $52 million deal he signed back in 2007, though the last two years come at a great price ($3 and $2 million in salary, respectively.)

St. Louis is probably the most intriguing of the two suitors. GM Doug Armstrong was in Philly last week as part of his Eastern Conference tour, and the Blues have some familiarity with Briere — Ken Hitchcock coached against him for years during his tenure behind the Flyers bench, and assistant coach Brad Shaw was with the Phoenix organization while Briere played for the Coyotes.

The Bruins know Briere as well. During their epic collapse from 3-0 up in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals, Boston watched as he tallied six points over the final four games of the series, which included the game-tying in Game 7.